Meet Our Research Team
Caroline Cummings, PhD
Lab Director
carolicu@ttu.edu
(806) 834-0931

Education
B.S. Portland State University
M.A. University of Nevada, Reno
Ph.D University of Nevada, Reno
Dr. Cummings devotes her clinical and research time towards assessing and treating youths with complex and chronic illnesses. During her graduate training, she emphasized the roles of positive affect and self-regulation in understanding adolescent behavior and health, including as they pertain to type 1 diabetes, overweight/obesity and substance use. She also completed her pre-doctoral internship at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) where she conducted full-time clinical work with pediatric patients with complex medical and psychiatric presentations. At OHSU she then extended her research to examine the interconnections of mental health, social relationships, and physical well-being within pediatric patients with pain or gastrointestinal illnesses. Moving forward, she anticipates delving further in these areas to develop and test mobile health interventions to promote optimal health in pediatric populations.
Selected Publications:
Cummings, C., Lansing, A.H., & Houck, C.D. (in press). Perceived strengths and difficulties in emotional awareness and accessing emotion regulation strategies in early adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies.
Singer, J., Cummings, C., Coccaro, E. (in press). Parental separation and death during childhood as predictors of adult
psychopathology: An examination of racial differences. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy.
Cummings, C., Benjamin, N., Prahbu, H., Cohen, L.B., Goddard, B.J., Kaugars, A.S., Humiston, T. & Lansing, A.H. (2022). Habit and diabetes self-management in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Health Psychology, 41, 13-22.
Cummings, C., Crochiere, R., Lansing A.H., Patel, R. & Stanger, C. (2022). Digital health program targeting physical activity among adolescents with overweight and obesity. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 5.
Cummings, C., Feldstein Ewing, S.W., Tran, D.D., Stoyles, S., Dieckmann, N.F., Holley, A.L., & Wilson, A.C. (2022). Trajectories and predictors of daily acute pain and sleep quality in adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 45, 613-621.
Cummings, C., Humiston, T., Cohen, L.B., & Lansing, A.H. (2022). The role of COVID-19 fears and related behaviors in understanding daily adolescent health behaviors during the pandemic. Journal of Health Psychology, 27, 1354-1364.
Cummings, C., & Lansing, A.H. (2022). Daily associations of positive emotion and obesity-related behaviors and their interconnections within adolescent-caregiver dyads. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 56, 146-156.
Cummings, C., Seng, K., Tweet, R., & Wagner, J. (2022). Lifestyles under lockdown: A scoping review of international studies on type 2 diabetes self-management behaviors during COVID-19. Frontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare, 3.
Stiles-Sheilds, C., Cummings, C., Montague, E., Plevinsky, J., Psihogios, A., Williams, K. (2022). A call to action: Extending human-centered design methodologies to improve mental health equity. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4.
Research Assistants

Graduate Research Assistant
Katie Shircliff
Education
B.S. Indiana University-Southeast
Katie Shircliff is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. She completed her bachelor's degree at Indiana University Southeast. In her undergraduate career, she worked as a research assistant at the Applied Research and Education Center, where she engaged in a multitude of projects aimed to reduce substance use, specifically with adolescent and rural populations. After graduation, she began working as a study coordinator on a project that aims to identify the role of medication-assisted treatment in long-term recovery from Opioid Use Disorder. Currently, her research interests are in facilitating positive behavior change for adolescents who are at-risk for or currently engaging in substance use. In the future, Katie hopes to deliver clinically relevant behavioral health interventions to youth and young adults within healthcare settings.

Graduate Research Assistant
Maddy McClinchie
Education
B.S. Allegheny College
Maddy is a second-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. She completed her undergraduate degree at Allegheny College where she was involved in the Allegheny Healthy Families Lab which researched pathways of risk and resilience in children and young adults. After graduating from undergrad, Maddy went on to work as a post-baccalaureate at Nationwide Children's Hospital in the Center for Biobehavioral Health where she worked on a number of projects investigating the impact of stress and identifying psychosocial factors of resilience in a number of pediatric populations. Currently, her research interests surround promoting self-efficacy and health behaviors to optimize psychosocial and physiological outcomes in youth with chronic illnesses.

Graduate Research Assistant
Alana Johnston
Education
B.S. Stonehill College
Bio coming soon!

Graduate Research Assistant
Natasha Lindert
B.S. Chapman University
Natasha Lindert is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. She received her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and biology from Chapman University. After graduating, Natasha stayed at Chapman and worked as a Project Coordinator on studies investigating the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and child development. Currently, her research interests include examining biopsychosocial factors contributing to resilience and medication adherence in pediatric patients facing chronic illness.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Dylan Jenkins
Second year Psychology student
Former Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Aimee John, 2024
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Emma Bass, 2023
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Ella Flood, 2022
Lab Alumni
Imani Sims
B.A. Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University
Abbs Kortenhoeven
Experimental Psychology PhD, Texas Tech University
Namratha Mohan
STEM MBA, Texas Tech University
External Collaborators
Amy Hughes Lansing, University of Vermont
Catherine Stanger, Dartmouth College
Christopher Houck, Brown University
Wendy Hadley, University of Oregon
Tyler Livingston, Angelo State University
Michael Harris, Oregon Health and Science University
Jacklyn Stellway-Beard, Oregon Health and Science University
Anna Wilson, Oregon Health and Science University
Amy Holley, Oregon Health and Science University
Sarah Feldstein-Ewing, University of Rhode Island
Astrida Kaugars, Marquette University